Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Two weeks ago we took a little road trip over to South Dakota. We stayed in Sioux Falls 2 days and then went up to see Jill in Brookings on our last day.Sioux Falls is a very nice town with lots to do. We arrived around lunchtime and went to the zoo.Lydia liked all of the animals and even liked this camel. Nate wanted to ride on the camel with Cassidy, but she didn't want to get near it.This was as close to riding anything as she would get!

This peacock was just roaming around hoping someone would feed him!

and we did!

On our second day we started out at the butterfly house. That was pretty fun to see all of the butterflies up close and sometimes they landed on us.

Here's a big moth that landed on my upper arm. It peed on me!Later we spent the afternoon at the mall and in the evening we went to Falls Park. So pretty!My little poser, She wanted me to take this picture! Maybe she's getting out of that stage of not wanting a picture taken? I can only hope.On our last day, we traveled up to Brookings which is about an hour drive from Sioux Falls. It seems to be a nice place for Jill & Eddie. His store looks great and is a fun place to shop.We went out for lunch and played at the swimming pool then left for home. Vacationing is tough on 18 month kids. She did not enjoy the 4 1/2 hour drive and neither did we! But we're glad we went!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Two weeks ago we went to visit my sister's farm to ride horse. It's actually her friend's farm, but she keeps her horse there and lets us come to ride every now and then.

Lydia rode first! This was her first time on a horse, doesn't she look like she knows exactly what to do?? It was so cute, she was gripping with her little legs and holding on tight to the horn. She really enjoyed riding the "hoo-hee" (horsie)

This is Dubbs. Not my sister's horse, but a nice old horse that's great for kids.Cassie loves riding with her cousins.Lydia loved petting the fluffy kitties. Our clothes were full of cat hair when we left!Thanks for letting us come and ride!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

WARNING: LONG POST!I realize it's almost the middle of July, but before I add anything that has happened this month, I thought I should go back to June because it was pretty eventful.

For the third year, we planted our vegetable garden and grew our first radishes, and nobody likes to eat these in our house other than me, so they were all mine. They could have been a little hotter, but I won't complain too much. At least they grew! Other things in the garden: Beans, peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, asparagus, jalapenos and sunflowers. We planted cucumbers, but we think they got overrun by weeds and didn't make it. Currently we're trying to stay on top of the weeds, and trying to be much better about it than previous years. Maybe next year on those cucumbers??!!The second full week in June was our first time attending VBS (vacation bible school) at our church. Around 65 kids attended and it was so much fun. Cassidy still talks about it. They had a safari theme and I helped with crafts. Every day was something different and the kids kept very busy because they had different activities every 30 minutes. Here is the preschool class during their program on the last night:Cassidy is in the front with the zebra hat. They made them in their classroom and I think she still has it in her bedroom. I had to staple it a few times because Lydia got her hands on it!

The following 2 weeks we had swimming lessons everyday in town. Again it was our first experience with lessons, so I wasn't sure what to expect because Cassidy has been so scared of water. She would cry & scream in the tub if a tiny drop of water got on her face. So I was sure we were going to go to lessons, because we needed to get over this "fear".The first day was bad. I wasn't sure if we were even able to make it the next day. The teacher taught them how to do a bob, back floats, and at the end of that first day they were jumping off the side! Cassidy was very proud and excited and was ready for another day! She even called her daddy and told him all about it while he was at work.The last day was their test day. All of the kids passed easily. Here is Cassie jumping off the diving board:Even I can't do that!!And her face is all wet too!! YAY Cassidy! We're so proud of you!

Nate was in a wedding in June. It was Deron (he was our best man) and Erin's wedding. Erin has become a good friend of mine as well as my hairdresser.We had a wonderful time and the day couldn't have been nicer. 80 degrees and no humidity, lucky for them! You can check out more pictures at the photographer's blog. Congrats Deron & Erin!

That's about it for June. I'll leave you with this picture, my favorite. She never looks at the camera and when she does it's quick and usually without a smile. I was a lucky to get this one!!